2012 April 1

One Laptop Per Child, an organization that is building and distributing laptop computers to children in the developing world, is offering a free laptop for every one you donate. The cost to you is $399 for both laptops (and $200 of that is tax deductible). From their website:

One learning child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.

The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a "Give One. Get One." program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.

Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).

For all U.S. donors who participate in the Give One Get One program, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary HotSpot access. Find out more.

Please be aware that we will make every effort to deliver the XO laptops by the holidays, but quantities are limited. Early purchasers have the best chance of receiving their XO laptops in time for the holidays, but we cannot guarantee timing.

It's a great little laptop – and has many special design features to make it 1) compatible with extreme environmental conditions such as high heat and humidity, 2) durable, 3) energy-efficient, and 4) visible in bright sunlight, in addition to being "responsive, and fun". Some of its neat features include: 1) Wifi mesh networking, 2) built-in camera, speakers, microphone and game controller, 3) rotatable screen, and 4) memory card slot. Also, it has a rechargeable battery with 3 different recharging options, 2 of which are designed for locations "off the grid". Note that the XO laptop does not use Windows or Mac operating system, it uses a special version of Linux.

2007 April 16

But first… My prayers go out to those impacted by the massacre today at Virginia Tech- those murdered, plus their families and friends.
… a moment of silence. please…

…

Now, about Imus– I am glad that he got fired.
… I wonder why it took so long.
… Once the sponsors started pulling out, the handwriting was on the wall.
… BUT… why didn’t CBS fire him sooner?… why did they have to wait to see “how the story played out.” ?

…

And another dimension of the story–
I am glad there is now a growing dialog about rappers, especially gangsta rappers, to get them to remove the word “Ho” from their songs (other degrading words and phrases as well). Rev. Al Sharton and Jesse Jackson have said recently that we should be lifting up our women and youth, and not degrading them in the lyrics and in the music videos (to be completely honest, they have not always spoken out against such lyrics). But, as you can imagine, there is controversy here too. Some rappers, like Russell Simmons, Mims and others, say that they are simply reflecting the nature of the environment of the ‘hood. Some say even more that they are drawing attention to the plight of growing up and living in the ‘hood so that maybe something will be done about it. (A few example links below, shown in alphabetical order.)
— Arizona Republic- click here
— Barack Obama- click here
— Cagle Cartoons- click here
— CNN- click here
— MSNBC- click here
— Oprah- click here

The objective should be to lift women up !! Black women.. All women!! We should do all that we can to encourage them to “be all that they can be”. More on that in the future… Let’s hope the discussion in the media keeps this issue alive for a while, and eventually things move in the right way.

2007 April 12

In Always Aroused Girl’s (AAG’s) blog today (April 12, 2007), she discusses a coffee date she had wherein the man asked her, “Have you ever had a man clean you up after coming inside you?” This was then clarified to mean “going down on her” after unprotected sex.

As AAG described it, her date was insistent that if they were getting along and had sex that “You gotta trust me.” He whined slightly now. “I’m very picky about who I take to bed. I don’t sleep with just anybody. Look at me. Don’t I look clean? You certainly look clean to me!”

AAG was amazed and disgusted (my adjectives) and indignant about how insensitive and lacking-sense-of-reality this guy was. Issues of her health, his health, future and past partner’s health, and pregnancy all come into consideration. Go read her blog and readers’ comments to get the full sense of her indignation. And also to know my jumping off point for the remainder of my current post.

I made some comments in her blog, which I copy here:

I agree with you AAG. Absolutely!

I’m just sitting here trying to figure out what’s that guy’s story:
1) Is he just ignorant?
2) Is he stupid?
3) Is he truly unaware? Could this be possible?
4) Is he just selfish?
5) Does he think he is immune to disease?
6) Does he think that somehow he could tell that you are “clean” and he is “clean”? And even if he could, does he think that he doesn’t need to think about pregnancy?
7) Does he think that only the woman is responsible for pregnancy prevention?
8) Does he feel that even if the woman gets pregnant that he has no responsibility at all for the child and the total change to the woman’s life?

Then I begin to wonder… forgetting this man for the moment.. how many of these questions apply to how many of the other men out there that you might otherwise be attracted to?.. Or to all of the men out there that are looking for a woman?

Sensitive Man wonders what we can do about this…???… What do you think?

Well, I didn’t want to take too much space in her blog comments, but I kept thinking about the issue… and wanted to make some comments here…

A Sensitive Man should know enough to know the importance of wearing condoms in today’s world.

A Sensitive Man should be respectful enough of the woman to know that she is going to want to protect herself (health and pregnancy concerns).
… and he should not be aggressive or use various forms of persuasion to force her to have sex without the condom.

Don’t men realize that oral contact to the woman’s vulva (external genitalia) has the same or greater risk of transmission of STD’s as sexual intercourse without a condom.

Do “controlling men” more often act like the woman should do whatever the man wants when they are “in the bedroom”, no matter what issues, concerns, or anxieties they have.

Even an “insensitive man” should assume he is going to use a condom.

…

This whole issue is just one element of what a Sensitive Man is.. one who realizes that there is more going on than just his need and desire for pleasure. A smart man, even if he isn’t that sensitive, might even realize that by being sensitive, he might actually get more appreciation from the woman if he just pushes to have things his way.

…

How should men learn these things? Should it just be learned in the natural process of growing up and learning about life? Should parents be teaching these things to their children? Should it be covered in “Sex Education” classes at school? (I mean all of the sex/pregnancy/STD/sensitivity/responsibilities dimensions?) Should there be some “Parents’ Manual” which covers these issues, so that parents don’t forget to cover them as they guide the growth of their children?

2007 April 4

A few years ago, I was in Paris on a business trip with a team of six. After a long successful day, we all went out to dinner. Nothing really eventful there, but it helped to set the stage for what would transpire later. We all talked about France, doing business there, and the male members of our work-team were talking about the lovely French women, and what their sexual proclivities might be. Lots of different possibilities were suggested, but no one knew which might be true or not.

After the dinner we all returned to our hotel. I decided to go the bar for a last drink, and quiet reflection about the day and plans for the next.

There was a lovely quiet lady sitting close by at the bar, and we just started talking, very casually.

She had a sweet voice and very intoxicating perfume. I was still thinking about my business deal of the day, but she slowly became more and more of a distraction. She was wearing a very pretty, yet seductive dress over a fantastic, shapely body. She was leaning toward me as we talked more. Her lean, her posture showed interest, and was very provocative in a way, but was also still quite classy. You could tell that she knew that she could have any man she wanted. Anyhow, my thoughts of business completely disappeared, and I know my breathing was quicker, and my face was getting a little flushed, though we hadn’t said anything sexual.

She noticed my blushing, smiled, then reached up to my face in a very gentle way to wipe away a bead of sweat that had appeared. Her smile was so lovely… intoxicating, really.

She told me a little about herself… Adrienne was her name. She was originally from a small French town, but was moving to Paris from Marseille. I told her my name, about my business trip, and that I had had a very successful day.

We continued the small talk for a while, each talking about our own experience in Paris, and comparing our experiences living in a small town (I had grown up in a small town in the Midwest). We were talking about “nothing in particular”, and yet her whole being was so seductive, without any overt effort on her part. You can imagine how easily my thoughts drifted back to my earlier conversation about French women and their sexual proclivities. I had to find a way to remain classy and at the same time, open up this line of conversation.

As I was getting ready to mention this, I took her hand and very gently kissed her wrist. At virtually the same moment, she started to get down from the bar stool, while still holding my hand. She kinda winked at me over her shoulder as she started to walk away from the bar. She pointed very subtly with her head… and her eyes.. (ohhh those piercing beautiful blue eyes) toward the elevator.

I didn’t know if she was going, or if she was trying to bring me with her (I was a little slow in those days in picking up signals). As I started to say goodbye to her, her fingers were holding my hand a little stronger and encouraging me to come with her. I was in a trance!!!

Well, we went up to her room and before I knew what was happening, she was pouring me another glass of wine. A few moments later, she was in some sexy lingerie from the Paris version of Victoria’s Secret.

She was such a tease and a flirt, too. My face was red and my manhood was bulging under my pants. She looked down and said, “Oh my!” Then she reached for me, and touched me firmly but gently– it was an amazing touch, yet hard to describe.

Next thing I knew, she was on her knees and kissing my inner thighs, and between my legs. My pants were still on, as she began to undo my zipper.

Well, as you can imagine, my cock was harder by the moment. She had a little trouble getting my pants off over my swollen member.

Finally, she succeeded… and she was ravenous… Wow!! … as I remember it now… it was incredible.

Her sweet lips were all over me, she was licking and sucking me. Her hands reached under my shirt and started pinching my nipples. I felt like this would go on for the rest of the night. She clearly knew her way around the bedroom, and had decided that pleasing me was her desire for the evening. I had totally given in to her advances, and was enjoying this so much, I hadn’t even begun to try to get her out of her lingerie.

Then her cell phone rang. I hoped she wouldn’t answer… but she did. I heard her conversing in French. After a few moments, she hung up the phone, her whole demeanor changed. She told me she had to go, but she begged me to stay as she would be back in just a little over an hour… She quickly got dressed, and redid her makeup in a much more provocative fashion.

I begged her to stay… she said she had to go… I said I would wait for her. As I tried to catch my breath, I could feel my cock rapidly shrinking … Cock deflated … ego deflated … I wondered a little about her makeup, which was very different from earlier.

As she went out the door, I heard her she splurt out “clients damnés!” (in English- “damned customers!”) Then, she turned back toward me and smiled, then waved and said, “Stay here!! I’ll be back!!”

Before I could say a thing, she was gone…

Well… there I was… in a strange woman’s bed… a beautiful, sexy, passionate woman’s bed.

My shaft was getting hard again as I imagined her, and how quickly she had turned me on.

But, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be there waiting for the call girl to return… even if I hadn’t called her, and even if she was such an intoxicating seducer…

2007 March 29

It started as a nice evening out to dinner with my girlfriend, Patrice… a neighborhood-type restaurant– nothing too fancy.

We had a very friendly waitress- Shari. She was kinda cute, shapely… very nice… but not really one that would knock your socks off- maybe a 7 or 7.5.

Well, the restaurant wasn’t very busy, and Shari kept coming back to our table and joking around with us. Some of it was full of sexual innuendo. She had amazing self-confidence. It seemed like she wanted us to know that she was totally uninhibited in the bedroom.

Now, Patrice and I had never had a threesome. We enjoyed sex with each other so much– we were both pretty frisky, but also quite romantic. We had joked a few times about having a threesome– “if you get lazy and don’t turn me on any more, we may have to add a third to keep things interesting.”

So on this evening, with all of the innuendo and teasing, Patrice started quietly hinting, “Wouldn’t it would be fun to invite Shari over for later??”

I really didn’t have my eye on Shari- I was just enjoying our playful banter. But, Patrice kept at it. She clearly liked teasing me. And, I kept telling my Patrice, “Nahhh… not interested!… I only have eyes for you.” But still, she wouldn’t drop the subject.

Then one time Shari came over and gave me this huge smile and wink- a really gorgeous smile.. her whole face lit up when she smiled. I had the feeling she was saying, “I would love to join you guys later…”

I know I must have blushed, because she got me a glass of ice water, and said perhaps I needed that to cool down.

Well anyway, we finished our food… (I can’t even remember what we ate… All I remember is Shari and Patrice and our friendly banter.), and went to pay our check.

As I paid the check, Shari came over and said something like, “It was fun serving you tonight. Let me know if I can be of any further service…” and she smiled and winked again.
…Surely she wasn’t hinting about service in the bedroom, or was she?

When Patrice and I got into in the car, and started driving home she said, “that was fun, wasn’t it? Shari is a tease just like you are.”

Then she said… and this blew my socks off… “Let’s invite her over!!!”…

My heart was racing… I was thinking… “Did my jealous girlfriend just say that?… Is she just testing me… or teasing me… or is she serious?

I asked her what she meant.

“Let’s invite her over for some fun… ” she winked… (What is it with all this winking?)

Well… I was very conflicted… My testosterone was surely saying, “Yes!!” But, my relationship with Patrice was just into the “second stage of passion” (the truly loving, yet still highly sexual stage)… and I didn’t want to disrupt the path we were on. On the other hand, Shari was very cute, had a great bod, dynamite smile, and was definitely fun-loving and interested.

I didn’t know what to do– have Sheri over for a wild and crazy threesome .. OR .. make Patrice happy by saying no… resisting the temptation in favor of our relationship. And I couldn’t tell if Patrice really wanted it, or if she was testing me. What will she think .. say .. feel .. do .. if I say OK?

I was driving… trying to talk… trying to think… trying to decide… My heart was thumping… Time had stopped.. each second was like a century … Any longer and Patrice will know I’m considering it… “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?” Heartbeats pounding in my head.

Finally I said, “No, I don’t think so. I just want to be with you!” Somehow, I had decided to forego this remarkable opportunity.

Well, Patrice had been ghostly quiet as I considered my decision. (for the longest three seconds ever!!). But when I said “No”, I could tell she was thrilled!!… I could feel the smile growing on her face… (Remember, I was still driving.)

She immediately kissed me on my cheek, put her hand between my legs, and said. “You’re gonna be so glad you said that… You are not gonna forget this night!!!”

Well, I know I swerved a little as she “attacked me”. I unconsciously started driving a little faster. My adrenalin was pumping. My breathing accelerated. My entire body was reacting.

She kissed my cheek. Her tongue poked at the corner of my mouth. Her hand rubbed against my shaft. She said silly things like, “Hello big boy!”

I had to pull over at an exit and find a place to “park.” We parked at the far end of the Quikshop, and I was finally able to give Patrice some attention.

As we kissed, she took my hand and placed it to her breast. Our tongues were dancing passionately. My hands began to unbutton her blouse. We were both so hot, it was getting steamy inside that car.

Then, realizing where we were, I said, “We better go home.” She echoed, “You’re right baby. Just go quickly!!”

Well, the drive to my place wasn’t too many more miles. But I can’t even remember the drive that day. I know she was still rubbing my shaft through my pants. I know I was asking her to not distract me. I know I had to work to keep the car on the road.

When we got to the house, we raced inside. We must have looked funny. Her blouse was still partly unbuttoned.

Once we were inside, we left a trail of clothes from the door to the bed

… Well, suffice it to say– it was the most incredible night ever!!!

BUT, that’s not the whole story. And you’re never gonna believe this. After hours of passionate love-making, as we were lying quietly… gently stroking each other– you’ll never believe what she said…

She said, “Lets go back to that same restaurant for dinner tomorrow!!!”

I couldn’t believe it!!!… I didn’t answer with words. We made love again- and it was even better than the first time!!!… Wow!!!. I can still remember the sun rising!!
Well, I won’t tell you about the next night… because that would be another story… (Woohoo!… and what a story!!)

2007 March 23

OK… this should be easy.. it’s just research, right?.. Well, there’s a lot of shit out there about sensitive men… I want to find only the best stuff, and show it to you guys… get things off on the right foot… before we start getting things off completely.. ;-)

Anaïs Nin, a French-born author (1903 – 1977) famous for her published diaries and for her erotica, wrote the book“In Favor of the Sensitive Man, and Other Essays”. I encourage you to read the whole book. It has some interesting insights about how a sensitive man is seen by women.

You cannot have Independence and dependence. You can alternate them equally, and then both can grow, unhampered, without obstacles. This sensitive man is aware of woman’s needs. He seeks to let her be. But sometimes women do not recognize that the elements they are missing are those which thwarted woman’s expansion, her testing of her gifts, her mobility, her development. They mistake sensitivity for weakness. Perhaps because the sensitive man lacks the aggressiveness of the macho man…

SNAG … stands for “Sensitive New Age Guy.” … The “Sensitive” part is what I find strange. Why do we feel the need to identify men as sensitive or not? Why are sensitive men such diamonds in the rough? Why are they hot topics of debate on Oprah and Sex and the City? Are they that rare?

There’s also a “contrary opinion” at http://www.themenscenter.com/busterb/sensitiv.htm, who says, “So, if you’re a truly sensitive man you can look forward to a lifetime of rejection as women discover that when they cut you, you bleed.”
There’s even a joke about the Sensitive Man which has been published and republished many times through the Internet (Here’s one copy of the joke). I won’t repeat the joke here, but in the build-up of the joke a man who has neatly organized collection of teddy bears appears to be a Sensitive Man, and beds a woman as a result. But, he appears to be sensitive at one moment, and incredibly crass the next– is he really a Sensitive Man? Well, I don’t think so!!… But, I do believe that a Sensitive Man will show a range of emotions, and a range of attitudes when dealing with others.

If you like Goth, and Metal music, there’s band from Italy named “Sensitive Man Organization”. You can get a sense of them at http://www.myspace.com/sensitivemanorganisation . Their page declares, “We are not rude metalheads, we’re sensitive goth people!” In their “Greatest Lovesongs, Vol II” album, one track is “Vibrator for a friend”. Now that surely is a Sensitive Man!

Well… enough of this… Have we answered the question?… Well, we have shown who else describes the “Sensitive Man”. But, I don’t think we have improved our knowledge or understanding of what a Sensitive Man is.

2007 March 22

Well… I have my ideas.. about what it is and what it is not… There are lots of preconceived notions, but also a lot of confusion about this subject

As for me… I think I am some of these things.. and I aspire to some others…. but I definately am not all… I think I am a much more complex and more complete personality than that.

Women say they want a “sensitive man”… but then they leave him for a “bad boy”… til they get pissed off at how unreliable he is, and then they decide that they don’t know what they want…

Here is what I try to be.. a Sensitive Man who paves his own way, and is not encumbered by preconceived notions or expectations.

One who listens well….

… But also.. one who tells, when something needs to be told.

One who can get by without a night of sex… now and then…

… But will have that night of unbridled passion often.

One who can cater to the needs of his woman…

… But also, one who is his own man, and has or attracts a woman who caters to him.

One who knows when to be “sensitive”…

… But also, one knows when to “stand up” and be a man.

I won’t kid you.. I am a man… a “man with needs”… LOL… Hey!!.. Most people won’t say it like that, but I admit it… I do have needs!

Tomorrow… We’ll see what other people have said about “Sensitive Men”.
======

OK… now.. one more thing for today… just a little about “sex”… I did say that this blog was in part about sex, didn’t I??!!??

There once was a teenager… a freshman in college… still a virgin… and all his college buddies were comparing notes about their “experience”. How much of it was true?.. How much was bragging?.. How much was just telling a story to avoid embarrassment?

“I learned about sex when I was growing up from Playboy Magazine, and from locker room conversations, and from trial and error. ” That was my story.
“Awkward trial and error!! Ha ha haaaa!” One guy laughed and snickered as he said it. All the other guys laughed, too.

“You’re a virgin!!” They all chimed in, high-fiveing and pushing each other as they had discovered my secret- Yes, I was a virgin!!

“I bet you have never had sex, have you John? Right?” I suddenly felt so small!.. But, I also sensed that for some of the guys, their laugh was a nervous laugh! Maybe some of them were in the same boat as I was, but hadn’t yet been discovered. There were clearly many things they weren’t willing to admit about themselves.

SHIT!!… Sex is so good … so fantastic!!.. so incredible!!!.. when we have the knowledge and confidence and trust and experience and love and all the rest. Why is it so hard to get to that level? Worse==> Why do we make it so hard for ourselves and for each other to get to that level?…

Sometimes, I am amazed that any of us are able to “successfully” maneuver the sexual minefields from pre-teens to where we want to get to as confident, sensual, sensitive men?

2007 March 21

Man!!… There are so many stereotypes.. so many things known and unknown… so many opinions.. so many misconceptions… so many people and organizations telling you what is right and what is wrong.. what you can do-what you can’t do-what you can say-what you can’t say.

I hope that we (me and you readers of this blog), can help to break down some of these stereotypes, and that we all can learn a few things along the way.

Fill in the blanks:

Women are ___

Men are ___

Sexy Women are ___

Sexy Men are ___

Bad Boys are ___ (FYI- see my rule below- I am not talking about children!!)

Bad Girls are ___

Sex is ___

Sex should be ___

Sensitive Men are ___

LOL… well, I haven’t said anything of any importance yet… I’m just trying to lay some sort of foundation… These are some of the subjects I hope we can get into… Give me a little time to get my momentum.. OK?

Gonna talk about Sensitive Men first. That’s me. Or at least, I think that I am a Sensitive Man. I can be a Bad Boy, too. Well, that’s my topic for tomorrow… I promise I will do my best to make it interesting.

Oh yeah!!.. I only have one rule here.. for now.. ABSOLUTELY NO CHILD PORN OR CHILD ABUSE comments, links, pics, etc. PERIOD!!

Soooo???… What do you say?.. Are you with me?… (“damn!!.. one more day til he actually says anything useful!!.. grrr.. wellllll… OK, I’ll come back one more time.. maybe two… and then we’ll see!!”)

Ohh!!.. One other thing… I need to add to my blogroll… I am new to this, so I don’t know “all the best sites”… so give me any ideas of sites you think I should add.. OK?… Are there any sites that review Blogs?

Damn!!.. One more thing.. LOL.. can you guys help me get the word out?… 1) tell me where and how I can place links or mentions to get people to come here.. and 2) can you place me on your blogroll, or suggest me to others?? Please??.. Now don’t make me beg!!

2007 March 20

Sensitive Man’s Pen is a Latter-Day Blogger who is exploring the world of Men, Women, Sex, Relationships, and whatever else. Please help me make this an interesting and exciting blog that will be read and talked about by women as well as men.

I hope my visitors will come here to be entertained, to laugh, to learn, and to share their own ideas, knowledge and experiences in the world of life and love.

I have some of my own ideas of what I want to say and what I want to talk about. BUT, I would love to see your comments and to hear what you want to talk about.